Chase Hudson is a 2007 Buford High School graduate. His parents are Darren and Tina Hudson who raised Chase in Dacula, Ga. He has a 24-year old younger brother Drew Hudson. Chase attended the Dacula cluster schools through the 8th grade. In the 9th grade, Chase was slated to go to Dacula High School in a time of severe overcrowding as Mill Creek High School had yet to be built. His parents took that into consideration along with a recommendation from friends and decided to send Chase to Buford. He attended BHS for his entire high school career.
At Buford, Chase played football all four years as a guard on the offensive line and was a part of the varsity team starting his sophomore year. During his time on the team, Buford won the State Championship his freshman year and was Region Champion all four years. His senior year Chase was a team captain, won the Gwinnett Touchdown Club Player of the Week award and the First Team award.
Throughout high school, Chase maintained a 4.0 GPA and says that AP Government with Coach Christian Hunnicutt was his favorite class. He also claims that Hunnicutt was the teacher/staff member who influenced him the most while at Buford. “On the field Coach ‘Cutt’ was relentless, he would push you beyond your limits and wouldn’t settle for anything less than your best,” states Chase. “He would not accept anything less than your best and wasn’t afraid to let you know if there was something you needed to work on.”
When it came time to decide on a college, Chase chose Georgia Tech’s offer of being a preferred walk-on over full rides for football at smaller colleges. During his sophomore year at Tech, he sustained a back injury that required surgery. The injury would continue to plague him so Chase made the decision to retire from football deciding to instead concentrate on his studies. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Studies. After Tech, Chase enrolled in the Georgia State College of Law where he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2016 and would become an attorney.
Currently, Chase is a private practice attorney with the firm Sliz/Bramblett & Associates but also makes the time to be an Appointed Counsel for Gwinnett County. Gwinnett County does not have a public defender program but instead has a list of private practice attorneys who represent those that cannot afford their own counsel. Chase says he decided to sign up to be an Appointed Counsel because he wants to “provide a public service that is desperately needed.” Chase explains that “the right to representation for those who cannot afford it is a vital protection for those accused of any wrongdoing by the state.” He goes on to add, “Our judicial system preaches that the accused are innocent until proven guilty but without adequate representation, those same accused can find themselves sitting in jail for months and even years awaiting trial if they are unable to make bail or not even granted one. The justice system does not provide justice when someone’s constitutional rights go unprotected and that is why I signed up. Whether someone is guilty or innocent they are afforded certain rights under our Constitution and I want to make sure those rights are protected.”
Chase took valuable lessons with him from Buford that still serve him well, “Hard work is the key to success, nothing is going to be handed to you but if you are willing to put in the effort and work it will pay off eventually.” He also learned what community and giving back is all about. Once a Wolf, Always a Wolf!
— By Alicia Couch Payne
